D-Cat-Dat-Got-D-Mouse: May 2008

On the 1st weekend of May, we were finally able to push through with our prenups (Background: I won one of the UP prenups by EBE in the w@w auction - I bid, on the remote possibility that I could convince h2b of the merits of doing a pre-wedding photoshoot - since he's notoriously camera shy, but on the day itself, I was pleasantly surprised by his "openness") I guess it helps having an experienced and creative photographer who knows how to put an awkward couple at ease :-) (Tenkyu sir EBE!)

The day started off innocuously enough, with EBE explaining to us how a prenup works - what we should and should not be doing, with tips on pretending that somebody with a 10 megapixel camera is not chronicling your every move ...

She: Hah! You can't back out now!

He: What did I get myself into? :-(

We had a couple of shots at the UP "lagoon" - ironically, in our 5-yr stay on campus, we rarely went there together, probably due to its reputation as a "lovers' nook" and due to the risk of being unmercifully ribbed by our classmates should we be spotted there as a couple. I wanted to pose by the UP Oblation but any resulting pictures would be decidedly too risque to show to anybody ... so we just regressed for a while and immersed ourselves in the chance to fool around in the lagoon, which we never did when we were students ...

"A Walk to Remember"

Luneta? Lorien? UP lagoon! San ka pa? ;-)

She: kunwari daw may pinag-uusapan tayo ...

He: e ano pa nga ba ginagawa natin?

One of our favorite candid shots

The next phase of our prenups was shot inside the Collge of Business Administration (CBA) - (tnx Mam Glo for granting us permission!) Luckily, it was Friday afternoon (summer) and only a few students were around to witness our antics.

She: Hehe, terno kayo ng "Bastion of Apathy," parehong may spikes

He: Lagot ka sa akin mamaya pag di na sya nakatingin

Inside Starmall, oops, UP CBA pala ;-p

(we liked it so much better when the walls were still a dull, aging grey, it had more character then)

Couple of Accountants

Lambingan sa Tambayan ... ng JMA (hehe, lighting was much better here than at JPIA's)

Foolin' around (still at JMA, don't worry JMAers, we cleaned up after our shoot ;-p)

Finally at JPIA

Feeling Highschool Musical

Stairway moments - we had a lot of these back then ... :-)

It took us an hour to "warm-up" - this shot shows how relaxed we are - finally! ;-)

Shadow Kiss

Kissing didn't seem so awkward anymore (inspite of the the 10MP SLR camera pointed right at 'ya!)

3rd flr Back Lobby (again, quite memorable for us)

Our college has (gasp!) an elevator! So much has changed in the 7 years since we've studied there. Of course we couldn't resist taking advantage of the shiny new metallic frame :-)

It was nearing dusk when we emerged from the building and the last few shots are in tribute to the magnificent UP skyline and the majestic Acacia trees we so dearly miss from our collge days ...

Denouement at Dusk

(Our favorite shot of all)

All throughout the shoot, we were never entirely relaxed but towards the end, we got a bit more comfortable with being followed around by a camera. Still, I would recommend prenups for all couples, since it's their chance to experience being photographed continuously, which is great practice for the wedding and it gives them the chance to bond with their photographer, though in our case, he was sadly unavailable at that time.

A few tips for prospective "prenuppers":

1) Research the place and the shots you want to be taken (in our case, it was UP or nothing, and we kinda already knew the places where we wanted to be photographed at)
2) Psyche yourself up for the shoot (invoke memories/fantasies, whatever it takes to get you in the mood)
3) Practice posing (this will help eliminate the awkwardness)
4) Talk to your photographer (build rapport, share your ideas, don't let it be a one-man show - after all, it's your shoot)
5) Enjoy the experience! Shed your inhibitions and insecurities. Trust the photographer to find the most flattering angle for you and focus on reliving memories and having fun, no matter how uncomfortable or awkward you may feel at first :-)

The story of our invites involved a long and tiring process of frustration and subsequent elimination. At first, we didn't want to go to Recto-based suppliers, due to a perception of substandard output quality. In the end, due to several mishaps with other printers, we ended up with Printlane (they have shops in Recto and Cubao), where we surprisingly found both the flexibility and quality that we wanted at a reasonable cost.

It was a challenge trying to merge the classy/simple design that he wanted versus the casual and fun summer theme that she (moi) wanted. Luckily, my sister was able to piece together our seeminly unmergeable demands :-)